


It's Not Goodbye

by gokusPrincess014



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Drama, F/M, Lemon, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-08-17 05:35:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8132330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gokusPrincess014/pseuds/gokusPrincess014
Summary: Five years ago, Bulla left West City to pursue her dreams of becoming a famous supermodel, but upon leaving, she was also forced to give up and lose everything that she holds dear in her heart, including Goku and her love for him. Now after five years, she is once again returning home to attend her mother's birthday party, however, things turn out differently, and Goku doesn't seem to be in love with her like before. The cold treatments she is receiving from him are really hurting her to no end, which surprises her, for she thought that she had already gotten over him during those five long years of being away.Upon coming home, she only realized that she was wrong. She never got over him, because she still loves him the same way she loved him before.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own DBZ and its characters.0

_"Bulla? Bulla, honey. When are you going back here? We miss you so much.."_

_"Bulla, I'm celebrating my birthday next month. We are really hoping that you could come."_

Bulla sighed as she listened to her mother's voice messages over her phone. How long has it been? Five years? For five years she never came home to West City to visit her family and friends there because of her very busy and hectic schedule. She is currently one of the top and highest paid supermodels of a very popular clothing company in New York. Aside from that, she also has a lot of commercials, endorsements, pictorials and television guestings to attend to. She is working for almost 24 hours a day, in fact, her manager is suggesting that she should go on a day off or a vacation leave, but with every offer that came her way, a vacation leave is really impossible, or so she thought.

With every contracts and endorsements that came her way, she also didn't know how many birthdays of family members and close friends has she already missed because she always prioritized her work. Though she made it to a point to contact them frequently through social media accounts and phone calls or texts, she knew it was not enough, especially for her dad. Hearing her voice over the phone is not enough, it just makes them miss her more.

"Bulla? Are you ready? The show's about to start." 

Bulla turned and saw one of her co-models and closest friend, Valese, standing at the doorway of her dressing room. Valese is wearing a peach gown which is one of the creations of the clothing company that sponsored their fashion show that night. She already had her make-up and hair done and she looked as if she is ready to go walk on stage anytime now.

Bulla nodded at her friend. "Yes, I'm ready." She replied.

Valese walked up to her as she closed the door to Bulla's dressing room. She sat on one of the chairs and faced her friend.

"Ok, tell me, Bulla. What seems to be the problem?" She asked.

Bulla smiled to herself. Valese knew her all too well, she couldn't hide a thing from her. "Well, I was listening to my mother's voice messages over the phone, and she was asking if I could go home next month for her birthday party." She told Valese.

"And?" Valese pressed on.

"And, I am contemplating about it." Bulla answered.

"Why would you contemplate about such a thing? Bulla, how many years have you been here, yet in all those years you never got the chance to visit your family even once. Whenever I would go back to West City to visit mine, I asked you to come with me but you always told me that you were busy with your work. Even during Christmas days or other holidays Bulla, it's always like that. You never give yourself some time to spend with them." Valese said.

"Valese, you know that I'm really busy, right?"

"And I also know that you always say that even if you really are not." Valese said. When Bulla did not speak, she continued, "Bulla, I know you all too well. I've known you since we were in college. You can always tell the management if you want to go on a vacation leave and for sure, you will be granted of your request, since you are one of the highest paid models here. Do you really think that I would buy the reason that you can't come home because you're too busy? Admit it, Bulla. The reason why you don't want to come home is because, you still can't face him." 

Bulla frowned. "Who?" She asked.

"Don't play innocent, Bulla. We both know here that you know very well who I'm talking about. I know you had been hurt because of everything that happened. Well, I know he was also hurt, but it's been five years. A lot has changed. It's time to let go.." Valese said.

Bulla remained silent for a while. Memories of the past suddenly came back to her, and she felt her eyes sting a bit. She blinked a few times to prevent her tears from falling. Her make up would be ruined and there's no time to retouch because the fashion show would start soon.

"I can face him, Valese. I'm not the same girl who fell in love with him many years ago. I've grown up, and I've matured. It's not the same as before. And I have already let go of everything that had happened before. They're all in the past, and they will remain forever in the past." She said.

"Then prove it. Next month, we're going back home to West City to attend your mother's birthday. We both know that he'll be there. You said it yourself that you can already face him, so it won't be a problem if you see each other, right?" Valese asked.

Bulla nodded, though deep inside her, she is still contemplating about it. Can she really face Goku without her tears automatically falling from her eyes? Can she really go back and automatically remember everything that had happened in the past and relive all the hurt and pain she felt way back then?

_But it's been five years. Maybe it's indeed time to let go just like Valese said.. ___

__The only question is, was she really able to let go of everything during those five long years?_ _

__"All right, Valese. We're going home next month." Bulla said in a firm voice despite the hesitations flooding her mind._ _


	2. Chapter 2

The fashion show went well and as usual, a lot of people congratulated and praised Bulla after the event. Bulla just smiled while she received their praises and complements, and during the victory dinner party after the show, a lot of contracts and offers once again came her way. This time though, Bulla told her manager that she would think about it first, and that's when she opened up her plan of going home next month to visit her family in West City. Her manager, knowing that she hasn't gone home for such a long time, immediately agreed and granted her the permission to take a vacation leave. After all, Bulla had already made a name in the world of fashion and is one of the highest paid supermodels so it wouldn't be a problem even if she chooses to come back even after a month or two.

When Bulla and Valese went home to their apartment after the party, Valese immediately fell asleep while Bulla stayed wide awake. Many thoughts were running through her mind. Now that her vacation leave is granted, it's now or never. She would go home and see everyone else in a month, including Goku.

_Goku..._

Her heart ached once more as memories of the past flooded her mind...

_"You look fantastic, sweetheart. You look just like me when I was your age."_

"Hmm. Come on, woman. We both know who is responsible for her good looks here." 

_"Of course. It's definitely me. Boys used to ogle at me when I was at her age."_

_"Does that include that human weakling and that pervert old man?"_

_" Hey, hey, hey.. Cut it out, Mom, Dad. It's Bulla's birthday. Don't fight." Trunks said, chuckling a bit._

_Bulma frowned at Vegeta and pouted while the latter just grunted. Then she turned back to Bulla, who is celebrating her debut party today. She smiled once more when she saw that her daughter looked really beautiful in her expensive gown. The make-up and hairdo also gave emphasis to her already beautiful features. Bulma hired professional make-up artists to do Bulla's hair and make-up, as well as hers. She also hired professional party coordinators and caterers to take care of her daughter's grand birthday party which is to be held at Capsule Corp's vast lawn. At the last minute, she checked if everything is all right before the guests started arriving and she is quite pleased with the results._

_"Maybe we should go down. The guests might be arriving already." Bulma said as she exited Bulla's room, followed by Vegeta and Trunks._

_Bulla stood up from her dresser to follow them when Bulma stopped her. "I'll tell your escort to go and get you here. I'll go down now to check if he's already there." She said with a smile._

_Bulla smiled back as she sat once more. She made a request to her mother that Goku be her escort for this day. Of course, Bulma granted her request and Goku obliged without thinking much about it, after all, he used to babysit her along with his granddaughter Pan when she was still very young. Bulma thought that she is just fond of him and that she treated him like a second father that's why she chose him to be her escort on such a special day. Nobody knew the real reason why._

_Bulla sighed. The real reason why she asked her mother for such a thing is because, she is secretly in love with Goku. At first, she never paid attention to it, and she dismissed it as a plain crush. However, as she grew older, she realized that her feelings for him also grew deeper. She felt sad whenever she saw him with his wife, and she never entertained suitors because she wanted him to be the one to court her, which she knew is very impossible since he is married and he is very much in love with his wife. That's when she realized that she is already in love with him, and she didn't care at all if he was a lot older than her. Anyway, just like her dad, he didn't look very old at all._

_Bulla's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the door of her room suddenly burst open. She turned and saw her parents at the doorway. Her mother was crying and she looked shaken while her dad looked as if he was struggling to control his emotions._

_"Mom? Dad? What happened?" She asked._

_"Bulla.. We have to go to the hospital.." Bulma said shakily._

_Her eyes narrowed. "Hospital? Why?" She asked once more._

_This time it was Vegeta who answered. "Kakarot's woman had a heart attack. They were all set to leave when she suddenly collapsed. Kakarot and his brats decided to take her to the hospital when they saw that she wasn't breathing." He said._

_Bulla's eyes widened with shock, her mouth agape. She grew cold at once when she heard what her dad said. She instantly thought of Goku. She knew how much he loved Chichi. He would be devastated if something happened to her. Or if she..._

_"There's no time to waste. We have to get to the hospital now." Vegeta said, which brought her back to her senses. He assisted Bulma, who was still crying, while Bulla followed, completely forgetting that she was still wearing her gown. They went down and saw Trunks in the car. He offered to drive since Bulma is unstable as of the moment._

_When they arrived at the hospital, Bulla's heartbeat accelerated, it's as if she could almost hear her own heartbeat from her chest. She feels as though something bad had happened. She tried to calm herself as they alighted from the car and walked towards the hospital entrance. Trunks was the one who asked at the reception area about Chichi because Bulma kept crying while Vegeta tried to pacify her._

_They were told to go to the Emergency Room at the left side of the hospital. They weren't even there yet when they heard a loud heartbroken scream followed by continuous sobs._

_"Chichi!!!!!!! No!!!!!"_

_And right at that moment, Bulla already knew that Chichi is gone._


	3. Chapter 3

_"Goku, I brought you some food. You have to eat.."_

_Goku looked up and saw Bulla carrying a tray filled with soup, some sandwiches and a glass of juice. He turned away from her and looked back towards the direction of the coffin, tears flowing out of his eyes. "I'm not hungry.."_

_Bulla placed the tray of food on the chair in front of him while she sat beside him. "Goku... I know it's hard for you. Because it's all so sudden. It's hard for me too, because she died during my birthday. But please don't torture yourself too much. It's nobody's fault that Chichi died." She said as she placed a hand on his shoulder._

_He turned back towards her and looked at her for a second. Then to her surprise, he suddenly collapsed in her arms and cried._

_"I don't get it... Why did she have to die? She was very healthy... She wasn't even sick at all, but why? Why did she die?" He said as he cried profusely._

_Bulla wrapped her arms around him in return as she patted his back gently. She almost cried because in a way, she was hurting for him. She didn't want to see him like this. "Goku... Everyone else is shocked. But... But maybe, it's really Chichi's time to leave us. It's sad.. Really sad. But there is nothing left to do but to accept the fact that she is in a better place now.." She said softly._

_"I miss her Bulla... I miss her already, and it's only been a day. I don't know how I would be able to make it, now that I have to live without her for the rest of my life..." He lamented as tears continued to fall from his eyes._

_"Oh Goku...." Bulla said as she held him and allowed him to cry. Deep inside her, she vowed that she would do everything to help him get over Chichi and be back to his old self once more. She knew it would be difficult, but she was willing to do it, because she loved him very much._

_"You should get some rest, Goku. You haven't been sleeping for days.." she told him in a concerned voice as she eyed his still untouched food. He looked really haggard, he had bags under his eyes, and a few stubbles were growing on either side of his face, a proof that he hadn't shaved as well. Nevertheless, Bulla still thought that he looked handsome, despite the haggard look he is sporting because of the recent events._

_"I can't sleep. Everytime I close my eyes, I see her.. and... and I'm afraid to go to sleep. What if someone I love and care for dies again while I'm asleep? I wouldn't know what to do.." he replied, a few tears escaping his eyes._

_Bulla gasped. She had never seen him look so frightened. He was always strong, and everyone looked up to him. They had never seen him weak, or act weak. And he never feared anyone, as far as she knew._

_Right now, he was the exact opposite of the man he used to be, and it broke Bulla's heart._

_Bulla helped him get to one of Capsule Corp's guest rooms. Following Bulma's decision, the wake had been held at Capsule Corp, and the arrangements had all been taken cared of by her and her staff, so Chichi's family couldn't be more than thankful. However, Bulma just shrugged it all off. She was happy to help and be of service to her longtime friends._

_"Goku, I'll leave the food here. In case you would like to eat.." Bulla said as she placed the tray on the bedside table. She was about to leave when Goku pulled her arm._

_"Can you stay with me? I really hate being alone, Bulla. I'm sorry, but being alone just makes me miss her more.." he said to her in a pleading voice._

_She smiled warmly at him. "Of course. I'll stay with you, if you wish." She replied as she sat next to him on the bed._

_He gave her a tired smile. "Thank you, Bulla. I really appreciate your help and your concern.."_

_"Anytime, Goku.." she answered as she looked into his dark eyes._

_They remained like that for quite sometime until Bulla became aware that Goku's hand had latched onto her cheek, his fingers caressing her smooth skin. She became mesmerized in his touch, and she leaned into his palm, enjoying the feeling his touch was giving her.  
Then to her surprise, he pulled her towards him, drawing her into a kiss as his lips took over hers._

_Bulla's eyes widened. He was actually kissing her, she could feel his lips moving against hers. Because she was caught offguard and she didn't know what to do, being that it was her first kiss, she opened her mouth, allowing his tongue access. She released a small moan when she felt his tongue tugging on hers softly, and she wrapped her arms around his muscled neck, making him deepen the kiss._

_Her few moments of ecstasy were shattered when he suddenly broke off from her, leaving her in a dazed and shocked state. A look of hurt crossed her face, and thankfully, only the night lamp was on inside the room so Goku wouldn't see it._

_"I... I'm sorry.. I guess I just got carried away and... Oh my god, what was I thinking?" He said as he buried his head in his hands._

_"D-Don't be sorry, Goku. I-It's all right.." she told him as she ran her hand through his hair. She forced herself to smile at him. "By the way, that was my first kiss.." she said. 'And I'm glad it was you..'_

_He looked at her regretfully. "I never should have done that. You were my friend's daughter and... and it's my wife's wake... I'm really sorry.." he told her._

_"I told you, don't be. Now, go to sleep and I'm going to watch over you." She said as she stood and pulled the nearby chair, placing it beside the bed before sitting on it._

_"If it makes you uncomfortable, we can just pretend that it didn't happen." She said to him as casually as she could, though deep inside, it was really hurting her. He was sorry for kissing her, meaning he didn't really intend or like to do such a thing._

Bulla smiled as she remembered what had happened that night. It was Chichi's last night but it was also the night when she had her first kiss. Goku didn't knew that she was very glad and thankful that he had been the one to kiss her, but back then, he was very regretful of what he did, but then she also thought that it might be because they were at Chichi's funeral. Of course he would feel guilty after kissing another woman while his wife is about to be buried the next day.

"Oh, Goku. I'll be facing you again soon. It's really been five years, but Valese is right, I don't know if I could face you and talk to you so casually after everything that has happened." She said to herself as she laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling, drowsiness soon overcoming her as she fell asleep at last, thoughts of Goku still running through her mind.


	4. Chapter 4

"Yes, yes. Is that sure? Can't you give me an earlier date? All right, all right. So it's settled then. All right, thanks a lot." Bulla conversed as she finally hung up her phone. Then she turned to Valese who was sitting on the couch across from her.

"Our flight's scheduled next month. I can't get an earlier date, so we'll have to settle with that." She informed.

"Well, that's fine. We'll be just in time for your mother's birthday celebration then. We still have one more month before your mother's birthday." Valese answered as she flipped through the pages of the fashion magazine she was holding.

Bulla nodded. "Yeah. I'll have to make the necessary arrangements for my leave these succeeding days. I already talked to the manager of the clothing company, and they granted me a three month leave. But I still have schedules and pictorials to finish before we actually leave for West City."

Valese smiled. "Bulla, you're gonna finish everything in time before we go. So don't fret too much about it. You know, if I were you, I'd think more about what I would do once I arrive home. Surely, he would be there, since he's your mother's best friend. And you told me before that he goes there to train with your dad. So it's really inevitable. You're really going to have to face him."

"Valese, it's been five years. Surely he has already moved on, and so have I. I don't think it'll be a problem if we see each other again." Bulla answered.

"Don't you love him anymore?" Valese asked as she tried to maintain eye contact with her friend.

Bulla averted her eyes from Valese. "What kind of question is that? Of course I..."

"Answer my question, Bulla. Don't you love him anymore? If your answer is yes, then that question won't be hard for you to answer, right?" Valese pressed on.

Bulla sighed. Of course, the answer to that question is no. Five years may have passed, but her feelings for him haven't changed one bit. She still loves him as much as she had loved him before, or maybe even more, even if she hasn't seen him for quite some time.

That's also the reason why she remained single and uncomitted until now. Of course, now that she is a very famous supermodel, lots of men longed for her attention, and some even tried to pursue her, but no one succeeded. Bulla turned down every suitor, reasoning out that she isn't thinking about finding love. Of course, that's not true. She turned them all down because even after five years, she couldn't get herself to love someone else other than him.

Other than Goku, the only man who remained in her heart until now.

_"Goku, it's getting late. We should head home now." Bulla told the bereaved man who sat by his wife's freshly dug grave. That day, they had brought Chichi to her final resting place, and Goku was very inconsolable all throughout the ceremony held in honor of his late wife. He was supposed to give a eulogy as a final respect for his wife but he could do it, for he couldn't finish one sentence without his words dissolving into tears, so his eldest son Gohan did it on his behalf. When the time came for them to finally bury Chichi's coffin underground, that's when the old Saiyan broke down. He fell on his knees and kept pleading for his wife to come back to him, and everyone who had seen his outburst was moved to tears. Goku no longer acted strong and proud, instead, he acted like a weak and helpless child who had just lost its mother. Even Bulla's father, Vegeta, pitied his former rival, and the Saiyan Prince made sure not to leave Goku's side as the ceremony for Chichi's burial commenced._

_And now, everyone else had left. Everyone, except Bulla's family, and of course, Goku._

_"Just leave me here. I'll stay with Chichi. She would be sad if... if I leave her alone." He replied as silent tears ran down his cheeks._

_Bulla crouched beside him. "Goku, you can't stay here all night. They will be closing the cemetery and the management won't allow you to sleep here. If you want, we can just get up early tomorrow so we can come here and visit her. I'd be happy to drive you here. How does that sound?" She asked him as she placed a hand on his shoulder._

_He remained silent for a while before he looked at her. Bulla could see the tear stains on his cheeks and new sets of tears were starting to form at the corners of his eyes._

_"All right.." he just said as he finally stood up, dusting off his suit as he did. Bulla also stood up from her previous position and held on to Goku's arm to support the man who was still staggering as he stood and looked at his wife's grave once more._

_"Chichi, we're going home now. S-Sorry if I won't be able to stay with you tonight. But I promise, I'll come back tomorrow and visit you. G-Goodbye, and I love you." He said in a shaking voice. Then he turned towards Bulla who still held on to his arm. "Sorry for making you wait. Let's go."_

_Bulla led him to their car parked a few meters away from Chichi's grave. Bulma was at the wheel while Vegeta sat on the passenger seat. Trunks sat at the back and he seemed to be busy with something as he fumbled with his phone. Bulla let Goku get in the back first before she went in herself and closed the car door._

_"Goku, me and Vegeta have been talking awhile ago and we both agreed that it is best if you stay at Capsule Corp first, instead of going back to your house. At least, you would have us to keep you company and Vegeta to train with you whenever you would like." Bulma started as she drove the car towards the cemetery exit._

_Goku didn't answer, but he knew that Bulma was right. He really needs someone to keep him company, especially now that his wife had just been buried. This is the first night that he would sleep without having to see her when he wakes up, for it was a different thing during her wake. Whenever he would manage to get some sleep way back then, when he wakes up, Chichi or rather, her body is still there. He could still see her if he wished._

_Unlike now, that she is already buried. She is already gone, and it's for good this time._

_"What do you say, Goku? You don't have to worry about rooms, as we have a lot of spare guest rooms. But we really insist on offering you to stay with us, even for just a few days." Bulma spoke again._

_"I appreciate your offer Bulma. It's very kind of you to think of such a thing. Of course, I'll be happy to stay with you at Capsule Corp. I'd most likely feel sad when I go to our house anyway. Thank you, Bulma." Goku replied in a soft voice._

_Bulla was the happiest person of all when she heard Goku's reply._

"What, Bulla? You can't answer? Because you still love him, right? After all these years, it's still him." Valese said.

Bulla just nodded sadly without answering her friend's question. There's no point in lying, especially to Valese who is closest to her and knows almost everything about her and her past.

Valese sighed. "Well, I heard from Goten that his dad hasn't got a girlfriend yet."

"That's not the point." Bulla answered back. "Even if he does not have someone else, I don't know if he had already forgiven me."

"Forgiven you? Forgiven you for what? For leaving him in order to be a top supermodel like you've always dreamed of? Bulla, I don't think Goku's that narrow minded. In fact, I don't think he even took that against you." Valese told her friend.

Bulla sighed. Of course Valese doesn't know all that has happened. She knew most of the details, but not everything, including the main reason as to why she was contemplating if Goku had already forgiven her after five long years of being apart. For so long, she had tried to avoid talking about it because just thinking about it already brought tears to her eyes, so in order not to feel depressed, she kept herself busy until she reached the peak of her career.

Valese sensed that her friend seemed to be hiding something. "There's more to it than that, isn't it? There's something else that you haven't been telling me."

"I-I'd rather not talk about it." Bulla replied softly. Then she picked up her bag from the couch beside Valese. "I have to go. I have an interview coming up after lunch." She said as she walked towards the door, leaving Valese to ponder on certain thoughts.

_Bulla is indeed hiding something, but what? What could have possibly happened that would make Goku find it difficult to forgive her even after several years of not seeing her?_

 


End file.
